


Small Steps

by Morrigan_Healy



Series: Bandom Oneshots [7]
Category: Bandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 11:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18893407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morrigan_Healy/pseuds/Morrigan_Healy





	Small Steps

It's just another normal day for the Dandies, until a haggard looking wolf pup shows up on their doorstep in the freezing rain. William Beckett can't seem to shake the feeling that this isn't only a coincidence that this happens right when his wife has disappeared, and he immediately instructs the rest of his men to attend to the frightened wolf. Long story short, that wolf pup is indeed his wife, who somehow has turned back into a five year old, all traces of once being a vampire gone from her, reverted to the lycan she had been when he found her. But there's a catch – always is. William has never had to deal with another being at that age, and for being as old as he is, certainly doesn't know what he's doing in the first place. So how does a vampire that's lived hellbent on maintaining control of the city he calls home, giving only orders and expecting the best from his men turn into a loving father figure foregoing all rules to make the girl he'd once sworn he'd kill in cold blood happy?

"Well fine! I didn't want to go anyways! Some 'vampire royalty' you are, my ass!" Adeline Jeanette yelled as she stomped back up the stairs into the bedroom she and William shared, slamming the door behind her.

"Love, I didn't say we weren't going...it's just tonight I'm rather busy," he corrected, standing just outside the door, afraid if it were to open the last thing he'd see would be a three-inch heel flying towards his face.

"You're always busy, William. Always! Even when you're immortal you don't relax! No going to dinner, no just exploring the town, no more one those nights cuddling in front of the fire...I'm beginning to think you never wanted me here in the first place!" she started off sounding angry, but by the end her voice had softened and she opened the door.

"And besides..." she added, voice softening even more as he realized she was on the edge of tears, "It's my birthday, for fuck's sake! The one day I'm supposed to act human again, to even try to remember what it was like, and you can't even grant me the satisfaction of a date night..."

William sighed, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Have you ever thought, Adeline, if just for a moment, that this isn't the life I would have chosen for myself? I've watched decades pass, seen times change. I've seen what repercussions of both unrequited and forbidden love look like. If I could go back and change everything, I would have. I'd sooner have died than be sentenced again to this eternal hell."

She blinked, expecting him to say more, because normally when discussions got this way, there was a point to be made. He walked closer to her, setting a hand on her cheek as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"And then, I realize. If I had changed, I wouldn't be where I am now. I wouldn't be the one holding you every night, making sure everything is okay, even when I know half the time those tears aren't because of sadness. I wouldn't be the one to wipe those tears out of your gorgeous hazel eyes, those that study my every move, waiting for the opportunity to bat those long, thick lashes as seductively as possible before yo-"

"William, baby - quit it! You're- you're making me all warm!" she complained as she giggled, trying to scoot away from him before he could trap her, knowing full well what the intentions of the night were becoming.

But of course, she was too late. And, as usual, he was going to gain the upperhand from the get-go.

In mere moments William had her pinned, his strong arms holding her wrists to the mattresses as he straddled her, she shrieking with realization.

"You sneaky bastard." She admonished as he began to kiss his way up her neck, pressing himself into her, so desperate to feel how bad she wanted him.

Letting his hands move to begin to unbutton the frilled high-collar dress she wore, William groaned when her hands tugged his hair in a manner that meant he wasn't working fast enough.

"Settle. It's quite funny really, you being…intermittent with me and now you can't wait to have me. Seems a little pre-meditated, my dear." he stated, before catching her smile, one she had tried to hide.

"No it's not...I just...you're sexy when you're mad...I mean, that's after I get of the fear that you're gonn-"

William rolled his eyes, putting a finger against her lips.

"Ah ah ah. None of that talk now. You know I'd never intentionally harm you, love."

"Never intentionally. Catch 22. You know I can't believe you when you say that..." Adeline singsonged, lust already gleaming in clouded hazel eyes.

"Can't believe me when I say what?" he challenged, scowling.

"The whole 'never intentionally' thing. Need I remind you of the night you turned me?"

"That wasn't intentional harm, dear. Are you really going to argue over something that's long past?"

"Well, let's see, are you really going to let me forget my birthday?" Her voice had returned to being like ice, he knew she was trying to distance herself although the behavior had already gotten intimate.

"I'm not letting you forget your birthday." he almost growled, this petty argument she'd created was testing his patience, and it wouldn't be long before he snapped.

"Well then...if you're not going to let me forget it, do something about it! I can't sit here and watch you work day in and day out, William! Those first few nights I expected some sort of intimacy from you and it always was received! Now you won't even look me in the eye, even as we're lying on our bed and you're practically undressing me!" She yelled, and it took him a moment to realize she was shaking.

William's lip twitched. And with a sigh, he realized she was right. He'd been too absorbed in the endless paperwork, the keeping everyone else in check, to maintain just the right air of control and normality to fool the mortals - in doing so he'd forgotten about the person he needed the most.

"Forgive me, l'amour de mon cœur…Je me suis trompé, c'est toi qui a raison." William started, smiling in spite of the way his wife was acting.

Her gaze softened and a small squeak escaped her lips as his own found the hollow of her neck.

"Ma chérie, je suis désolé. Je ne devrais pas avoir crié ... Je me sens comme vous ne se soucient pas." She sighed, before moaning softly as William's hands lowered to undo the lacing on the corset, his long fingers untying the ribbon snares with ease. He looked up at her, knowing all too well what she wanted from him.

"I'm sorry." She said again as he tugged the thin tough fabric off her form, pale skin shimmering under the light of the stars shining just outside the French doors leading to the balcony.

William silenced her with a quick nip to the ear, after which he smiled, kissing her nose.

"Oh hush."

"Don't go around tonight, Well, it's bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise."

William Beckett, leader of Chicago's prestigious Dandies, had no idea what was in store for him the morning he flipped on the radio to the sound of the old Credence Clearwater Revival song. Sure, he remembered it as something his wife was almost always humming; it was sort of her inside joke. See, before they'd met, she'd been bit by Fenrir Greyback while on vacation to England when she was three, and being it had been a full moon, she had been inflicted with a curse, one that also left her an orphan being the elder beast had murdered her parents.

So every full moon after that, she would transform into the demon she never wanted to become.

This continued for the next sixteen years of her life, until she met William and he turned her when she was nineteen. Even though she was a hybrid, however, the transformations still occurred, although they were much less painful. Still, to warn William and the other Dandies that it was the day of the moon, she'd prance around the mansion cleaning and such while humming that song.

William smiled, he'd woken up to Adeline sitting up with only a pair of his old boxers and a t-shirt on, humming that annoying three chord melody. So tonight was trouble, again. Adeline hadn't been feeling well since she woke up, and had announced she was going to run to the local pharmacy to get some snacks and something to keep her occupied as she waited for the dreaded moon to rise.

William had let his thoughts wander into the song, images of the teenaged blonde convulsing on the forest floor as the first rays of the moon activated the virus, than of the beautiful honey-blonde she-wolf howling at the moon, blood on her lips although she wasn't yet a vampire, and then- suddenly the voice of someone yelling brought him back down to earth.

"William! I thought we killed all the strays around town!" Mike Carden hollered as he took off at a run, chasing after something only he could see.

"We did, I'm sure of it. Adeline always takes care of the cats."

"I'm not talking about – GET BACK HERE YOU DAMNED DIRTY MUTT!" The black haired, green eyed two-hundred and fifty year old vampire yelled, turning the corner as William stepped out onto the porch to see what was wrong.

The sight he saw startled him slightly, although it was amusing. His second-in-command was chasing what appeared to be a young wolf pup, with dusty blonde fur and big hazel eyes. It barked as though it was teasing the men that watched it, darting about here and there, tail wagging furiously in a playfully manner, almost as though it were a dog, not its wilder cousin.

William almost had to do a double take; it certainly looked like Adeline in her wolf form. But, he realized with some notion of relief, it was much too small to be his wife in her lycan form.

"Mike, let it run. Its family is probably further in town, you know how the alleyways and underbelly hold creatures far worse than of our own kind."

"But-"

"It has done you no harm, and in return, you will leave it alone."

The younger vampire sighed, chasing that wolf had brought back memories of those first few nights he'd trailed Adeline and her friend around Chicago the night they'd arrived to kill him and the rest of the Dandies.

Long story short, however, the Dandies being killed couldn't have been further from the truth. In perhaps a twist of fate, the younger of the two girls fell in love, and fell hard with the aid of mind control. Before her friend could stop her, the former found herself wrapped in Beckett's arms in the early hours of the morning, where soft, sweet whispers and gentle kisses kept her there until the tables turned.

The tables turned gradually, ending with the girl Beckett had taken in eventually killing her friend, and his love being both received and returned.

Which leads to where the group is now, still ruling Chicago, with Adeline still just as head over heels for her mate as she was the day he first wiped her memory.

"Brendon would you go check what is causing that incessant noise?" William grumbled as he adjusted the stack of papers on his desk, no work was getting done tonight with that noise injuring his ability to focus.

"I'm on it."

A few minutes passed, the mansion became silent. The only sound that was heard was the continued scratching, which was beginning to worry William.

Getting up and heading down into the foyer to discover the source of the noise for himself, William was surprised to find both Mike and Brendon more or less sitting in front of the heavy wooden door, as though they were stunned by something just beyond its border.

"Would you two mind explaining why the two of you and just sitting here?"

"It's back." Mike said, face cracking into a lopsided grin, "Like it belongs here or something...keeps throwing itself against the door like it wants in..."

"What?"

"The wolf. One he was chasing earlier." Brendon added, still listening for the resounding thump of the small furry creature slamming itself against the door.

"Well don't let it hurt itself then! If the mother finds it, you know it'll want to even the score." William reasoned, opening the door to reveal the honey-blonde she wolf throwing herself against the glass outer door, fur flecked with blood and dirt.

William tried to shake the eerie feeling he got as he looked at the wolf, but he couldn't help feeling nervous about something – as though something was going on that he didn't know about, that somehow it seemed way too familiar for comfort.

"Mike, do go grab the syringes. I'd like to get this taken care of quickly." William said curtly, shooing both his second in command and Brendon away from the door.

William almost smiled as he glanced once more at the wolf, its hazel eyes sparking the hunch that he did in fact, know its identity.

Mike came back a few seconds later with a small collection of syringes laid out in secure panels in what looked like a folded briefcase. William took his time choosing one, which was filled with what looked to be a milky substance, the amount inside the vial itself no larger than his index finger.

"Etomidate? That's a rather lethal does to use on a creature so small," Mike noted, knowing full well the dosage contained in the syringe.

"It will not affect her the way you think it will. She'll need a higher dosage, anyways from the looks of it." He replied swiftly, aiming to open the door before being interrupted mid-step.

"How do you know it's-" Butcher started before William turned abruptly, "I have my reasons."

Opening the door, the tall leader reached and wrapped a hand gently around the scrawny wolf pup's neck; hand tight on its scruff.

It yelped and pawed the air pitifully as William brought it inside and stuck the needle of the syringe into its neck, emptying the sleeping agent into its body. It gave a sudden cry of pain, but then fell quiet, body going limp as he held it.

"Did you…did you kill it?" Sisky asked hesitantly.

He was the youngest of the Dandies; he hadn't quite learned the others had an affinity for shooting distractions and prey up with sedatives to suit their intentions.

"No. She's just sleeping, that's all." William concluded, cradling the now unconscious wolf pup against his chest, sighing.

"Are you okay?" Brendon asked, wondering what the hell had made the leader so…keen to care for this…abomination, as Brendon saw it.

"I'm perfectly fine. I must attend to this one now; I'll be down shortly to discuss the recent treaties concerning the Cobras and the Dollightes."

"All right. You want a glass?" Brendon asked idly, heading into the kitchen to grab for the bottled blood – meetings called for sustenance.

"Yes, that would be just lovely." William replied, adjusting the being slightly in his arms as he headed towards the stairs, to his and Adeline's room.

Laying the wolf pup down in the middle of the bed and covering it with a blanket, he bent to kiss its muzzle and stroke the fur of its head. He smiled, straightening up and leaving the room, shutting off the lights and closing the door as he went.

Adeline would be back to her human form soon enough.

The rest of the night passed quickly, and everyone seemed to forget about the earlier episode. Until an ear-splitting wail brought everyone's attention back to the upstairs bedroom.

"I'll deal with this," William said, setting the glass of blood down on his desk, taking but three seconds to realize what he was getting himself into.

It was another ten before he reached the bedroom, finding exactly what he had expected – a mop of curly blonde hair sticking up from the tangled sheets, the girl within them wailing uncontrollably.

Almost at once William swept in to her side, pulling the mess of sheets into his arms to calm her, humming an old melody he hoped she would recognize.

"W-Who are y-you?! I w-want R-Remus! I…wwwwaaaahhhh!" she wailed, hands covering her face, afraid to see who she was with.

"Sssshhhhhh…my dear, you're perfectly safe here," William began, gently prying her hands off her eyes, "I'm a friend. My name is William."

She sniffled, but then continued, "B-But you're n-not R-Remus!"

"I know sweetheart…" William paused. Who the hell did she mean by that?

"But he had to go take a trip somewhere and left you with me. Don't you remember?" he asked, cocking his head to the side, hoping his mind control still would work on his wife even if she was stuck in the form of a five year old.

She blinked slowly, her small body beginning to shake against his.

"Uh hm. Said I haveta be a good girl." She replied, trying to smile.

William grinned back; the mind control had worked again. He set her down on the bed and she untangled herself from the sheets.

"Well, how about we get you dressed and then we go eat?" he suggested, realizing the five year old Adeline was completely naked thanks to having turned back into her human form.

"Kay! I wanna wear my Sesame Street pajamas!"

"Uh….come again?"

"Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away…" the blonde began singing, and William had an immediate adverse reaction and spoke to cut her off, "No no sweetie….Remus didn't bring any of your clothes…honey, how about you wear one of mine?" he suggested, walking over to the closet to grab one he hoped would fit her.

"Hm….I wanna wear the one you have on!" she announced, standing up on the bed, holding her arms out as if he was to slip it over her head.

William laughed, 'There's nothing weird about this. I'm just letting my wife wear my shirt….there is nothing weird about this,' he repeated in his head, unbuttoning the vest he wore before throwing it in the laundry basket, and then pulling the faded grey undershirt over his head.

"Wow…you're pretty." The five year old 'ooohhh'ed before giggling as William slipped it over her head. After she managed to get her arms through the sleeves, she smiled, practically drowning in the fabric that was covering her. She stumbled forward and instinctively put her hands against his chest to steady herself.

William bit his lip and tried to remind himself that this girl was not his wife – well it was, but…it wasn't the Adeline William had known.

"Thanks. So, uh, what's your name, sweetie?" he asked, hoping to distract her long enough for him to pull a shirt on.

"Its Adeline Jeanette! Remus calls me AJ…" she said proudly, her mouth opening to reveal a wobbly front tooth. William smiled, tugging a Chicago Blackhawks jersey over his head.

"Well, Adeline, would you like me to call you AJ then?" William asked, picking her up and turning to head back downstairs.

"Nah…you can call me Adeline….it sounds pretty when you say it." She giggled, her hand resting against his cheek before she added, "Your eyes are like mine…dark. Wonder if you're a wolf too…" He smiled, "No…I'm not. I'm something else….a vampire."

She grinned a cheshire cat grin, it seemed too large for her face.

"Bite me!" she called playfully, pretending to snap her jaws in front of his face.

William laughed, "Dear, I wouldn't suggest that..."

She pouted, "Well fine...I'm just gonna tickle you to death then!"

"Yeah?" Brown eyes widened accusingly, hazel ones blinked rapidly as their owner giggled.

"YEAH!"

"William, what the hell is all that racquet?" Carden called from the foyer, cutting of mid-sentence when he saw William walking down the stairs, carrying what appeared to be a five year old girl.

"The fuck happened?" Brendon asked, equally as confused as Carden was.

"YOU SAID A BAD WORD! BAD BOY!" The girl hollered as she stuck a finger out at pointed it at Brendon, who froze in shock.

There was no way that should have sounded like who he thought it sounded like. There was no fucking way that the little girl in William's arms was Adeline Jeanette. There just was no way.

"William...explain. Please." Carden practically begged, eyes going back and forth between the elder vampire and the girl in his arms.

"Seems much hunch was right. That wolf you were chasing yesterday, Mike..." William paused to adjust the girl in his arms, "Was this little one here. It's Adeline, although she's probably a tad smaller than you recall," he explained to both younger vampires, jaws were open in disbelief.

"No way...that's not-"

"Hm. Wanna watch cartoons?" The blonde said, twisting around in William's arms to lean toward Carden.

"Uh..." The second in command ran a hand through his thick black hair and smiled sheepishly, "Well..."

"Mike, if you would watch her for awhile, that would be great. I've got some last minute signings to do and I need to focus...oh, and I do believe Gabriel is coming over later with Ryland and Victoria, tonight's all bets off night."

"Right, and then about her?"

"Just allow her to watch TV and make sure she doesn't destroy anything." William finished, passing off the five year old Adeline to Carden.

As William headed back upstairs to his office, Mike Carden looked at Adeline and smiled, those innocent bouncy blonde curls making his non-beating heart produce phantom beats, it felt like he was human again. Why was it that it had taken fifteen years to get to this moment?

Maybe, if she didn't remember anything about the time when she was older, maybe, just maybe, Carden could make her love him the way he intended before William got into her head and turned her into one of them.

"Let's go play! I don't want to watch TV anymore." Adeline hollered as she sat on Carden's shoulders, her smaller hands tugging relentlessly on thick black locks. He actually didn't mind. Granted, he'd love the hair pulling to be in a different context, but whatever.

"Well what would you like to do?" he asked, smiling as he reached up and pulled her off his shoulders. She smiled," I wanna listen to music!"

"Well what kind of music?"

"I saw this pretty purple CD in William's office and it's got jewelry on it!"

Carden smiled she'd no doubt meant to be the 'Viva la Cobra' CD sitting on William's stereo. He sat Adeline down and ran up to William's office to grab the CD. When Carden came back, he put the CD in and to his surprise, Adeline began mumbling along.

"Let me hear you say this shit is Super-cala-fragalistic-expialidoshus S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-A-F-R-A-G-A...um...WHAT!

A few times you been around that track But your ass is still fat, it's gonna stay like that 'Cause I ain't your hollaback boy I ain't your hollaback boy…"

"Adeline, I don't think you should be singing that quite that loud," Carden chastised before the front door opened and Gabriel Sporta walked in.

"Mike? Damn, when did you get busy? She's a real cute one, but d'ya kill her mom in the process?" The Venezuelan vampire said, staring opened mouth at the girl.

"She's not mine. William's."

"Damn, him and Adeline have been busy if that girl's that big already."

"Yeah, uh, Gabe – the girl is Adeline."

The vampire's eyes widened.

"That's Adeline Jeanette?"

"Yes, Gabriel, that is. We've not quite figured out why she's suddenly this small, but if one thing's for certain it's created a big mess." William explained, drifting into the room and picking up Adeline before shutting off the CD.

"I'll put this one to bed and then I'll get you some blood and we can discuss tonight's agenda."

Gabe nodded, and as soon as William walked out of earshot, said to Carden, "He's really got the father figure act down, doesn't he?"

Carden smiled, "You'd be surprised how fast he learns."

A week later after Adeline first turned five; the boys were still trying to figure out how to get her back to normal.

"It's you!" the five year old screamed, hands waving about in the air maniacally as she giggled, trying to grasp at Beckett's suit jacket.

"You!" she repeated, to which William only cracked a small smile as he leaned down to pick her up into his arms.

She giggled, leaning forward, their foreheads almost colliding together before he realized she was trying to smell his hair.

"Doll, why are you smelling my hair?"

"If I 'splained, you wouldn't get it." She added quickly, leaning back slightly to look in his eyes before she grinned and kissed his forehead.

William blinked slowly in shock. Did she realize who he was to her?

"Doll…" he started before she went off rambling about Harry Potter and some stupid potion, he was surprised she could even say it for being as young as she was.

"It's Amortentia…you. You're it. Your hair an' the papers, the jackets you lemme sleep in….it's you." She finally explained, only furthering William's confusion.

Amortentia. Where had he heard that before? Right, in the Harry Potter series. What she was describing was the most powerful love potion in the world, but for every person, it had a different smell. But she had just said he was her amortentia – he himself was the scent that she recognized.

He smiled sheepishly at the realization, but then shook it off. Surely that meant she'd be back to normal soon?

"William?" She asked, blinking those large innocent hazel eyes before rubbing them and yawning.

"Hm?" She adjusted herself so that she was resting her head on his shoulder, blonde curls spilling down in front of her eyes. He could tell she was getting heavy, if he wasn't careful she was liable to fall asleep in his arms, and there he'd be, stuck holding a five year old for the rest of the night because most of the boys had gone hunting and 'Uncle' Brendon certainly wasn't going to be up to watch the 'monster mutt'.

She yawned again, and this time he could tell it sound a little more like a dog's whine than a human's yawn.

"'Lemme sleep in your Toews jersey!" the blonde cheered happily, and for a moment William almost thought it was going to be one of those nights when she was up 'til five or six the next morning.

He smiled, if there was one thing his city had gotten right, it had been the concept of mortal leisure time - known to the rest of the world as sports.

And hockey was never going to get old, not as long as his city was still winning cups and tourneys. What Adeline had meant was Jonathan Toews, he was the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, the city's hockey team.

William smiled, turning to walk toward the stairs so he could get her ready for bed before he added, "That's fine sweetie, just as long as you get some sleep tonight."

"But I don't wanna go to sleep yet! Tell me a bedtime story!" she chirped, bouncing up and down on the bed, making William smile.

"Fine. But you have to promise you'll go right to sleep after this, okay?"

She nodded, than more of less dove under the covers of the bed, scattering decorative pillows and clothes in the process.

"Fine! But it better be good!" She protested as he climbed up to sit beside her, rubbing her head against his shoulder to get comfy. William smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Alright...well, once upon a time, there was a girl. She was consider very pretty by most, the fairiest in all the land from Chicago to Ne-"

"Was she a princess?!"

"...Yes, dear, she was a princess. As I was saying, she was a beautiful girl, but she wanted to find true love. Most people didn't want to love her because of her problem. She was a werewolf, all the boys didn't like her. Than one day, as she walking, she ran into someone she'd never met before. But she still felt like she had known him. He asked her to come with him to a party later that night, and she night at the party, they kissed under the stars, and the girl found her true love." William finished, trying to decide if it sounded good.

"That's not a disney story! Tell me another!" Adeline protested, sitting up and crawling out of the covers to sit on William's lap.

He sighed, moving her back to where she'd been.

"Sweetie it's bedtime."

"But I don't wanna!"

William shook his head, "What if I sang to you? Would you go to bed than?"

She nodded, "Uh hm...only if you sleep with me though...you're warm..."

William smiled, slipping under the covers to lay with Adeline, pulling her into his arms before he began to sing.

"It's a drunken midnight on the streets ,brightly dusted with a neon light. We duck behind the corner store, smoke your smokes while I keep a watchful eye. Right here, right now.

I hope before the night is through one fumbled touch will finally hit the spot. You've got everything going for you, so I'll go for you with everything I got.

Right here, the best days of our lives. Is this coincidence or a sign? Is there anything I missed? Is there anything I missed? Tell me if I'm wrong, but why would we change a thing?

When the morning light fights through the cracks cascading across the bed, and you are mine. When your parents start to wake for work, between the sheets, I'll keep a watchful eye. Right here, the best days of our lives. Is this coincidence or a sign? Is there anything I missed?I know there must be things I missed... Tell me if I'm wrong, but why would we change?

When we met I was on my back. I swear we spent most afternoons somewhere in the act. We were part of something ours, and ours alone. Anywhere was home. We're almost here again. We're almost here again. We're almost here again.

When we met I was on my back. I swear we spent most afternoons somewhere in the act. We were part of something ours, and ours alone. Anywhere was home. We're almost here again. We're almost here again. Right here, right now..."

He sang softly, watching her eyes close as she curled into him and succumbed to sleep. He felt his own eyes closed, and he began to pray, hoping she'd be back to normal soon.

The next morning, when he opened his eyes, he heard a giggle and could feel someone's fingertips lightly tracing his chest. Adeline was smiling, straddling him, her eyes alight with desire.

And as William leaned up to capture her lips in the kisses he'd been missing, he smiled. She was back to normal. And they were never going to get into an argument over her birthday again.


End file.
